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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Welcome to Chateau d'IF

Chateau d'If

Chateau d'If was built in 1529 by King Francois I as a fortress to defend Marseille against attacks by sea. Later the chateau was turned into a prison, as its location and architecture rendered it escape-proof. It was frequently used for religious and political prisoners. As was common at that time, prisoners were separated by class, with the lowest classes housed in cramped dungeons and higher classes having cells of their own. However, the prisoner was expected to pay for the privilege of having his own cell and the comfort of a fireplace and garderobe.The prison was made famous when Alexandre Dumas chose Chateau d'If as the site of Edmond Dantes daring escape from prison in The Count of Monte Cristo. In truth, no one is known to have escaped from Chateau d'If alive.More information on the physical Chateau d'IF can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_d'If
http://www.monuments-nationaux.fr/fichier/m_docvisite/449/docvisite_fichier_chaa.a.teau.d.if.en.web.pdf
http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/en/discover-marseille/city-of-art/if-castle-and-frioul-islands/

Why Chateau d'IF?

Chateau is French for castle; IF is the common abbreviation for infertility or infertile. So Chateau d'IF is the Castle of Infertility. As with the real Chateau d'If, this castle is a prison, albeit one made of my own body and broken heart in lieu of stone.

In later posts I'll detail more about who I am and how I came to be imprisoned here.

I also hope that as this blog grows, as the days and months pass, and as you and your husband carry this cross, you will find that it is WITHIN the Chateau D'IF that you find and learn everything you need in life, in spite of and because of its ability to encompass you at this time of your life.

Just as Edmund Dantes found love and hope to replace the prison of hopelessness and vengeance in his own internal prison, I hope you find the same within yours.

Reasons to believe Jesus is alive in a new life with God can be found in quotes from two prominent atheists and a biology textbook.> Thus the passion of man is the reverse of that of Christ, for man loses himself as man in order that God may be born. But the idea of God is contradictory and we lose ourselves in vain. Man is a useless passion. (Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology, New York: Washington Square Press, p. 784)

> Among the traditional candidates for comprehensive understanding of the relation of mind to the physical world, I believe the weight of evidence favors some from of neutral monism over the traditional alternatives of materialism, idealism, and dualism. (Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, location 69 of 1831)

> And certain properties of the human brain distinguish our species from all other animals. The human brain is, after all, the only known collection of matter that tries to understand itself. To most biologists, the brain and the mind are one and the same; understand how the brain is organized and how it works, and we’ll understand such mindful functions as abstract thought and feelings. Some philosophers are less comfortable with this mechanistic view of mind, finding Descartes’ concept of a mind-body duality more attractive. (Neil Campbell, Biology, 4th edition, p. 776 )

Sartre speaks of the "passion of man," not the passion of Christians. He is acknowledging that all religions east and west believe there is a transcendental reality and that perfect fulfillment comes from being united with this reality after we die. He then defines this passion with a reference to Christian doctrine which means he is acknowledging the historical reasons for believing in Jesus. He does not deny God exists. He is only saying the concept of God is contradictory. He then admits that since life ends in the grave, it has no meaning.

From the title of the book, you can see that Nagel understands that humans are embodied sprits and that the humans soul is spiritual. He says, however, that dualism and idealism are "traditional" alternatives to materialism. Dualism and idealism are just bright ideas from Descartes and Berkeley. The traditional alternative to materialism is monism. According to Thomas Aquinas unity is the transcendental property of being. Campbell does not even grasp the concept of monism. The only theories he grasps are dualism and materialism.

If all atheists were like Sartre, it would be an obstacle to faith. An important reason to believe in Jesus is that practically all atheists are like Nagel and Campbell, not like Sartre.

About Me

Welcome to my prison of infertility. I am Catholic and not Hugenot, and my imprisonment is for neither religious nor political reasons. In truth, I do not know why I am held here, only that I am.
I am in my mid-30s and live in southwestern PA with my husband and 3 cats. This is my attempt to cope with what seems to be the loss of yet another dream.